Mystery and MortalityPublishing Genius 2017
O’Connor and Ferrante. Franzen, McCarthy, Brian Allen Carr. Kathy Acker and Wallace—Mystery and Mortality is a collection of essays about literature. Paula Bomer focuses on the hardest things in life that inspire great writing, like the pain of loss in death, loss in love, loss in memory. Kierkegaard writes of the poet whose tortured screams from the dungeon sound like beautiful music to the king, so far removed. Here, Bomer’s essays bring us back to what we’re supposed to derive from literature: compassion.
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Soho Press 2014
“[The title story] “Inside Madeleine” is the heartbreaking—and erotic—description of the destruction caused when the only man who sees her realistically leaves a vulnerable woman.”
—Booklist
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Soho Press 2012
"A raw, darkly funny, at times appalling page-turner.... Mommy lit lovers will be horrified, but Bomer’s debut novel will resonate with fans of quirky, character-driven fiction in the vein of Richard Russo, John Updike, and Tiffany Baker.”
—Library Journal
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Word Riot 2010
“Reading BABY is like being attacked by a rabid dog— and feeling grateful for it. This is some of the rawest and most urgent writing I can remember encountering.”
–Jonathan Franzen
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